Sopuruchi Onwuka

Federal government will achieve more results if the upstream petroleum industry would recognize and harness the abundant human resources available in the female population of the country in driving the key objectives of the Decade of Gas agenda.

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Chairman of the Diversity segment of the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, Mrs Alero Onosode, declared at the 2022 Practical Nigerian Content Forum hosted by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, that all professionals in the country are needed to add propulsion to the activities that deliver results.

The Oracle Today reports that enhanced female gender quotient in the energy indurty programmes and activities remains the principal advocacy of the Women In Energy Network (WIEN) led by the Managing Director of Sigma Limited, Mrs Funmi Ogbue.

Mrs Onosode who was the only female panel discussant on the “Harnessing Domestic Market Opportunities to Meet Future Energy Demand,” pointed at the sub-20 percent female participation in the government’s gas programmes in the country and presented abundance of women with capacity to support realization of gas policy aspiration in the country.

In advancing strategy propositions on how to realise the key targets and aspirations of the numerous gas policies and programmes already enunciated by the government, Mr Onosode proposed that human capacity must be envisages by the policy divers.

She said that harnessing of skills and capacities must be mapped in multiples and presented in diverse packages that cut across demography.

She said diverse strategies have become necessary for realising government’s aspirations for deepening the domestic gas market, adding that the female potentials must be fully tapped in filling capacity gaps that currently exist in harnessing the potentials of gas as economic development enabler.

Earlier in his introductory remarks, the President of the Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), Mr Ed Ubong, had made it clear that the industry was running behind its targets of meeting critical deadlines in power generation, power sector liquidity, domestic gas supplies and industrial cluster establishments across the nation.

He listed other lagging targets to include milestones towards commercial liberalization of the domestic gas market, resolution of foreign exchange crunch in the system, distribution infrastructure development and creation of greater virtual pipeline space in the domestic gas market.

Mr Ubong pointed at industry target to train over 10,000 gas professionals in the Decade of Gas, prompting Mrs Onosode to decry the very low quotient of the female gender in the entire agenda.

She made it clear that the government’s aspirations from the gas sector would deliver more and faster with all gender inclusion in the systems and processes that drive delivery of outcomes.